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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday that the city has expanded testing criteria to make coronavirus tests available to anyone who has come into contact with someone who has tested positive, as well as nursing home and shelter workers.
Speaking at his daily coronavirus briefing, de Blasio urged New Yorkers to get tested for the virus even if they are not deemed high risk for contracting the disease and also said anyone who has been in contact with a known positive case of the virus should seek testing, as well, even if they don't have symptoms.
"Even if you are not older, even if you don't have those preexisting conditions, if you have the symptoms we want to see you get tested, and more and more testing will be available to you," he said.
"If someone in your life has tested positive and you know you've been in close contact with them, well, right away, if they're a household member, they're an intimate partner, and you know they tested positive, we want you to get tested, as well, regardless of whether you have symptoms or not," the mayor added.
The city currently has 28 sites for testing and de Blasio said he hopes the expanded testing guidelines will help the city reach its goal of administering 20,000 tests a day by May 28.
The expanded testing criteria marks a positive landmark for the state hit hardest by the coronavirus.
Back in March, when the first cases in New York were discovered, limited testing was available and reserved for only the most severely affected patients who were experiencing immediately life-threatening symptoms. Other individuals who suspected they may have been infected but were only experiencing mild symptoms were refused the tests and told to self-isolate at home for 14 days. The mayor said the slowing of new coronavirus cases requiring hospitalization has opened up the possibility for more people to be tested for the virus.
De Blasio called the testing milestone "progress" but urged the federal government to expand lab capacity so the virus can eventually be contained through comprehensive testing and tracing programs.
“When we get the real support we need from the federal government and that additional lab capacity, we'll be able to go much further,” he said.
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New York City has reported more than 186,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases.
The number of children in New York City diagnosed with a rare inflammatory syndrome possibly linked to the coronavirus has grown to 100, de Blasio said. Of those, 55 have tested positive either for the coronavirus or for antibodies to the virus.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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